An Ohio doctor is on trial, accused of overprescribing pain medication to multiple patients near death. Dr. William Husel faces 14 counts after the judge granted the prosecution’s motion to dismiss 11 additional counts in January. CNN correspondent Jean Casarez reports. #CNN #News
Ohio doctor accused of killing 14 patients by overprescribing pain meds
The doctors killed my grandmother with pain medicine. She has cancer and was in pain and we all were happy with it. She went peacefully
Support the sentiment but admit I had to read this a couple of times. Thought your doctor murdered your grandma and you all were happy that she had cancer and was in pain. Just, you know, phrasing.
This is different…25? He murdered them, twisted in his head he was helping and became addicted too killing, many had no reason to die and were just having fibromaylagia, he’s sick…1000 mgs? I’m an addict, that’s 10 fentynal patches. OK someone with no tolerance and their families were in the dark…..when baez defendsbyoy…. your guilty
@Florida Violetsso your making up excuses, well there’s been a lot of practise on that the past 5 years hasn’t there.
The real question is not if the wife knew, and we have only her word on that, but if the patient knew. Sometimes the pain is so great, death is a relief.
No. Your grandmother killed your grandmother. Stop blaming other people for her life choices.
This doctor’s actions are far from being compassinate.CONSENT is the missing element, which turns them into MURDER.
@NotMe2day I don’t think feeling pain is the issue here. Not even being moral. The issue is this doctor shouldn’t have acted in an unilateral manner.
@Cisco Kidd Maybe. However, it seems to me as though he had a plan beforehand.
@Chad Simmons
Your comment is ridiculous, because if you’ve ever worked in a hospital, in an ICU, and with critically ill patients, then you’d know in most situations the patients are often too sick and on ventilators, making them unable to speak/ask for anything for themselves. It’s up to the medical staff (doctors with input from nurses), the patients’ advanced directives if they have them, and the family of the patients to decide their care. No one doctor alone has the right to play God and take a patient’s life without consent!
The decision to terminate a patient’s life support and/or to give a patient a life ending dose of narcotics has to be peer reviewed by other staff physicians, and the patient’s family has to be informed, and that’s before the aforementioned intervention can be carried out. The doctor you’re defending is a murderer!
@Kryptonarie 63 After 2nd Covid jab I almost died from blood clots in leg, heart & both lungs, should I go after the nurse for the almost fatal drug injection?
@Chad Simmons Did the nurse Make the Covid Jab herself? I think not. Did you CHOOSE to go get the jab. Yes. Is there risk involved in your CHOICE, which you cannot sue for. YES. The entire world knows this. Were you residing under a rock these last few years? Just, wow.
That isn’t even remotely comparable to what this video is about. Your not the sharpest tool are you?
Praying for the families. End of life care is a hard one to debate. As for me, I want to be made as comfortable as possible, don’t keep me alive so that people can say goodbye. Let me go, free of pain.
@NotMe2day Excellent point
Are you saying that you don’t want to say goodbye to anyone? I’m hoping that you are just talking about the day you die, that you would be doing it from the notification of a terminal illness to days before death so that nothing is left unsaid. Sometimes hearing the voice of someone you love can be just what you need to cross over.
Imo if the family or person decides, then a doctor can proceed, but the doctor does not do this on their own.
I agree! I have a Do Not Resuscitate order. If I am in such severe pain and I die, why Resuscitate to continue my pain. But to God be the glory. To be absent from the body ( of ) suffering is to be with Christ and no pain.
That’s fine, I agree. But that needs to be discussed with the patient and/or the next of kin BEFOREHAND. A doctor can’t take matters into his own hands. That’s not how this works.
Very hard in my country to receive this peaceful ending. I will certainly shop for a doctor to assist me when the time comes. My 89 year old aunt has been lying in a home for three years…all curled up in foetal position, in pain and doesn’t recognise anyone, never speaks . Just asks to die
I think you might be conflating assisted suicide with murder. The difference is consent. One u ask to die and the other you come for help at a hospital and get killed big difference.
how is that related to this story?? did any of these people ask to die??
@Matt Kelly No. No confusion at all. It’s what happens.
@TheDrogba777 How can they if they are out of it on drugs yet not out of pain?
There’s always a grey area.
Your aunt reminds me of a patient I had who was exactly like her. I was so appalled by her condition that even though I had just started this job, I wanted to quit. Because anyone who ends up like that has been given the worst of neglect possible. Whenever I was assigned to her, I cried during her morning bed bath and care. 3 months later I did quit, because that wasn’t what I went into nursing for. I’d go home crying after every shift after 8 hours of watching others neglect, abuse, ridicule and malign patients for no reason other than their sick egos.
I was a hospice nurse whose son died of cancer on hospice. It is outrageous for anyone to defend 1000mcg of Fentanyl in this scenario, regardless of what was wrong with the patient. I’m asking myself where was the pharmacy and where were the nurses? This order by him was a huge red flag that should have been questioned and reported. Typically patients like this man have a Morphine drip to keep their respirations easy and manage any pain, and these drips are effective at pretty low doses.
I’d rather OD on Fentanyl than linger like a zombie in hospice care for days on end. What’s the fucking point? It’s obscenely cruel what you people do.
Sorry for your loss. My father died of cancer in hospice. If I was subject to that horror show, I’d choose a 1000mg fentanyl. The problem with this doctor is he made life decisions for OTHER people without their consent… that is murder.
@chrisserrific
Your comment is ridiculous, because if you’ve ever worked in a hospital, in an ICU, and with critically ill patients, then you’d know in most situations the patients are often too sick and on ventilators, making them unable to speak/ask for anything for themselves. It’s up to the medical staff (doctors with input from nurses), the patients’ advanced directives if they have them, and the family of the patients to decide their care. No one doctor alone has the right to play God and take a patient’s life without consent!
Mercy killing can’t be left up to the discretion of individual doctors, because every doctor/person has a different perspective and perception of what too much suffering is! There are hospital protocols for every procedure, and the protocols are designed protect the patients and the medical staff from mistakes and from intentional wrong doing by apathetic people.
The decision to terminate a patient’s life support and/or to give a patient a life ending (lethal) dose of narcotics has to be peer reviewed by other staff physicians, and the patient’s family has to be informed, and they have to be informed before the aforementioned intervention can be carried out. The doctor you’re defending is a murderer—period!
@Kryptonarie 63 I agree, I’m not defending that individual doctor. I’m just saying that I’ve seen relatives in hospice care, and it’s cruel. I’d rather just die, and get it over with.
@thejudgemeister in my country we do not use Fentanyl iv or sc anymore in palliative care, we use though fentanyl transdermal patches in very severe pain for example metastatic cancer. Fentanyl is 80-100 times more potent than morphine, that’s why there is the “pandemic” of opioid deaths in the USA.
To give you an example of how potent it is, for induction in anaesthesia we give 100 – 200 mcg of Fentanyl.
Why use a misleading term like “comfort care” when it’s actually just plain euthanasia? It’s not up to the doctor to make that decision on his own without the family fully understanding what is going to happen and consciously agreeing to it. That’s just plain criminal.
I am not against euthanasia if the person involved or his/her family agrees with it, but I am against using misleading terms, even out of compasion. It should not be in any doctors dictionary.
Like pro-life? Choice?
What if the family agrees but the patient doesn’t have an advanced directive? Or the person is DNR and the family disagrees? We have so many contradictory laws and some differ from state and federal levels. E.G. Marijuana is a schedule 1 drug and decriminalized at state level.
If someone is brain dead their body should be allowed to expire without pain and with dignity. I don’t think it’s as black and white of an argument and a lot of grey area. That’s my opinion and I respect yours.
@Marvin Davenport
Please read my post.
Because comfort care and euthanasia are two different things. The former is making a terminal patient as comfortable as possible for as long as they live, the latter is crossing that line into ending their lives. As in this case, simply a difference of pain med dosage.
His lawyer is misspeaking by conflating the two, but the reporters at the end did not.
Comfort care is just the removal of addiction dose protocols and the ending of life saving efforts. Thats it. My mom was on comfort care. As she was dying in the bed i was sobbing and said mom…. do you love me?
And she said “WELL DUH!?!” Good drugs. Love ya mom. True story.
It’s highly unusual for a physician to administer medication. Normally, they order and a nurse gives the drug. A nurse would have known the dosages were too high or would have been suspicious of a doc who gave the drug themselves. 🤔
Absolutely! Gimme a rationale or this order is dead in the water. I tend to piss off a lot of docs, lol!
@Cyra Dragoness I questioned any and all unusual or out of guidelines medication orders and had no problem refusing to administer it if Dr. couldn’t give me a sound medical reason for it that could be verified.
Notice how despite being a doctor he doesn’t get qualified immunity and is being held to the full standard of the law….looking at you law enforcement.
This just opens the door for anyone to respond about lack of liability by vaccine manufacturers. Good luck.
@Blue Wolf Police and vaccine manufacturers have immunity. I wonder, why?
State or Federal?
@hbgriss what former president? Bush? Do you mean former vice president? Biden? What crimes?
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Wait, this is not that complicated. Yes, this man had significant comorbidities, and yes most people in ICUs are already in serious conditions with multiple issues happening, but the amount of fentenayl this doctor gave was well beyond therapeutic dosing for any of these cases. If it happened one time then possibly it’s a terrible mistake. Two times? Negligence. Many times? Criminal
There are several issues here:
1. Fentanyl iv or sc should not be used in comfort care due to its potency. To give you an example, 100 -200 mcg of Fentanyl is enough for induction to anaesthesia. In my country it has been replaced (for safety reasons) by Alfentanyl in palliation and the total dose over 24h is 3 mg (3000mcg). Fentanyl is given only as transdermal patches and it is considered a last resort
2. The controlled drugs stewardship should be very strict and there is a managerial issue in this case. There is no way that I would request for 1000mcg of Fentanyl and the nurse in charge or the ward pharmacist would dispense this. There is organisational responsibility here as well.
Bottom line is that this dose of Fentanyl is not palliative care, it is euthanasia.
“Right to die with dignity” laws won’t result in more people dying, it will result in fewer people suffering while dying.
We give our beloved animal family members better “endings” than we do our human family.
Also, as someone who lives with chronic pain, with proper pain medications (opioids), I can still function well enough to at least care for myself. As my symptoms will eventually worsen, and eventually leave me bedridden, I would like to know there would be an easier way out, than to just continue to suffer until my body just gives out. However, that choice should be mine and mine alone.
I totally agree with you i’ve been suffering from chronic pain for over 7 years and last year catching covid has made my life a living hell. So yes I standby you sir 100%
Same here
Hear hear. I *FIRMLY* believe in the right to die with dignity. One should have the ability to legally stipulate this just as you can DNR. Doctors willing to facilitate this are essential, but they should not be making these decisions on their own.
While I agree with what you said, doctors do not have the right to unilaterally choose to overdose a patient that’s in pain. I’ve had a debilitating illness for almost 13 years now and theres NO WAY I’m going out like that. Those people he overdosed had a right to choose life or death.
You are so right. While my Brothers body lay there braindead. Staff continued to draw blood for tests..Until his Big Sister threw them out. No more money will be made from my brothers body.! Imagine thinking why? He’s not here anymore? Why but for greed are they literally bleeding him.. I have no regrets. I honored his wishes. As did the wonderful compassionate Nurse who administered enough Morphine to give him a gentle nudge.
Maybe due to the manner of death people have issues..waiting for a last minute cure a miracle. My beautiful Brother was tortured by addiction and depression. He was sexually abused by a Catholic Priest. Not inferring that all Priests are pedophiles. This one was. There was after my brothers death a late report made. We want nothing. All we wanted died 9 years ago. He couldn’t I’ve with his pain. I was sure as hell not going to make his pain linger any longer.
We all face death. Grief is the price we pay for loving. My soul , regarding my Brother is pure as is the nurse’s who administered his relief.
2:50 Here’s the thing, “comfort care” is not giving someone a lethal dose of a pain killer to finish them off.. It’s keeping them dosed (high) enough to take away any chance of pain… For a person that wasn’t prescribed fentynol, 5mcg infected would have almost certainly done the trick… Dude would have been feeling fantastic. 1000mcg, was practically instant death, guaranteeing there was absolutely no chance of a miracle. The man didn’t die as a result of his condition, he died as a result of the so called “comfort care.” That’s the distinction, you can’t even compare the 2. One is genuine compassion, while the other is straight up murder.
Remember Dr. Kevorkian? He was more compassionate than this guy, at least he murdered people with their consent..
If your brain dead u can’t be murdered your already dead
I agree with you 100% about obtaining consent. However, there are many cases where “a miracle” just isn’t going to happen. Prolonging the pain in hope of an impossibility is also horrible.
But yes, the doctor must discuss end-of-life care with the family.
I also had a problem with 1000 mcg of fentanyl. Another issue, is this guy a Palliative Care Physician? I’m thinking “not” or they wouldn’t be having this trial.
As a retired nurse, I saw many patients who lingered on for days, weeks and comfort care would have surely benefited them and their families. Death does not have to be ugly and we should embrace the right to die with dignity.
And you think 1000mcg is a decent dose?
Grossly overdosed.
@Darren Jones thats the point
@Darren Jones does the segment say how much people were dosed? It is useful that you seem to understand what is at stake. Can I ask your background? I’m an activist in various areas including anti-prohibition. So, do you think it has been conclusively proven that the doctor was trying to k*ll his patients? Or was he just giving them enough to make sure they werne’t in pain?
Dear Nora, thank you so much. As a teenager, I saw my Father on life support at the end. He looked mummified. My heart was broken. Years later, my Mother was near death with emphysema. She begged for me to help her as she lay there, suffocating. Rather than attempting suicide if I reach such an end, let me make the choice of falling into a pain free state and passing quietly. Thank you so, for speaking up.
But is assisted suicide even what this doctor is charged with. It seems like he was trying to reduce the pain of patients and he unittentionally gave very ill patients too high a dose.
Breaking the law is Criminal, there is no excuse of ‘compassion’. This is an intellectual human being knowingly overdosing patients, that is ‘factually’ criminal behaviour. I hope they lock him up and throw away the key.
When someone is beyond saving and they “pull the plug” so to speak, they give the patient a large dose of fentanyl. This is standard procedure.. but that’s only after the family is fully onboard and in compliance with the directive. Not just unilaterally decided by one doctor without consulting the family.
We definitely need laws allowing patients to request physician-assisted suicide.
Not everyone wants to continue to live in a debilitated, painful reality.
The Hemlock Society has tried to educate people about ending their life with medications that will allow them a peaceful exit.
Also, in some places in America euthanasia is legal.
We must come to grips with the aging population who need to be able to make these decisions, rather than being endlessly tortured by the unreasonable mandate of keeping people alive no matter what their condition.
I worked in surgery 10 years and I am here to tell you all that there are much worse things than death— especially if you are unfortunate enough to be at a teaching hospital without a motivated family member to protect you.
How do you want to die?
I agree this is a bigger conversation that needs to be had I myself working in healthcare hear patients tell me all the time they rather be dead than continue every day in excruciating pain I think as far as this situation is for this particular Dr is was this indeed the final moments of these patients and he just made them comfortable aiding as a hospice Dr. or did he end these patients chances of life .
I believe in euthanasia; but it has to be the patients’ choice, not the doctor’s.
@NICHOl GREEN
Hopefully, he will be exonerated if he were acting in their best interest— and convicted if he is a psychopath.
Patients should have every option.
My heart goes out to anyone caught in a painful and soul-crushing life, and wanting to leave peacefully.
Lindsey. Thank you for articulating my thoughts exactly
Dragging out the inevitable for someone who is incapable of giving consent is inhumane. Not to mention the costs when trying to some how rehabilitate a vegetable. But, if the deceased did not have a DNR filed someplace , that’s poor planning. The family should know about DNRs for loved ones.
Think about how medical care has turned into big business & how early termination prevents the hospice business from profiting. That actually seems like medical care rather than medical business.
Years ago, I overheard a doctor, in describing how they did everything possible to prolong a patient’s life, tell another doctor, “Well, we sure put that poor guy through hell before he slipped away.”
This is a very tricky issue.
If your organs are shutting down, and a lingering, painful, vegetative death awaits, what is the more compassionate option?
Still, the doctor must inform the patient, if possible, or next of kin. It shouldn’t be the doctor alone who acts.
When my dad was in his final hours of his life, the two nurses brought in a syringe and squirted Fentynal under his tongue and one said to the other one, “That should be the last one.” I asked her how much longer. She said, ” Within the hour.” He died about 20 minutes later.
AND WE ALL(6 of us) THANKED HER. He suffered a massive stroke the day before while raking leaves. He was 85, had no brain activity, and only spent a total of 2 days in a hospital before his last stay. The hospital waited a full day for all of us to be with him before administering the final dose.
Pretty humane from this lawyer’s viewpoint.
Thank you.
The doctor shouldn’t have the right or be able to do “euthanasia” unless there is a pre-signed legal document from the patient, included in a DNR. Otherwise, this can be a psychopath’s method of getting his kicks, and that actually does happen – and has always happened in the medical field by doctors, nurses and other care staff. There can be no other more vulnerable point in someone’s life, and the patient is not of sound mind to make the decision in that moment.
It wasn’t euthanasia. It was palliative care. They died from sickness.
@Musterion Ministries No. At that high a dose, he died from that. It does sound like he had only a few hours left anyway, but he and his wife deserved to have that time together if they wanted it.